Lavont Flanders, Jr. and Emerson Callum face life in prison

Two men, one a former police officer, were convicted in Miami federal court Wednesday of luring, drugging, raping and videotaping women to sell to pornography websites and stores, according to U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer.

Lavont Flanders Jr., 40, of Miami Gardens, and Emerson "Jah-T" Callum, 45, of Miami, were found guilty of a combined 32 charges against them. Both are looking at up to life in prison when sentenced Feb. 16 before U.S. District Judge K. Michael Moore.

Flanders, a former Miami Beach police officer who had more than a dozen aliases listed in court records, would pose as a female model online to entice aspiring models from around the country to come to South Florida for purported auditions. Seven women testified that once they provided their phone numbers, they were contacted by Flanders, who then claimed to be a talent scout for multinational companies such as Bacardi, Sony and Paramount Pictures, according to prosecutors.

Flanders told the victims that he liked their "look" and offered them a supposed role at an audition in Miami. After the victims flew in, Flanders had them audition for a commercial that involved promoting and drinking different brands of alcohol while he filmed them, court records stated.

The victims' drinks were laced with benzodiazepine, a common date rape drug. Once the women were sedated, Flanders drove them to a Miramar warehouse. There, Callum had sex with the victims while Flanders recorded them. Flanders and Callum then edited, produced and sold DVDs of the sex acts over the Internet and to pornography stores and businesses across the country through their Miramar-based Miami Vibes Enterprises, prosecutors said.

State and federal investigators said at least nine women were victims, dating to 2006, and their stories were similar to that told by a Winter Park woman who showed up at the Hollywood police station on March 26, 2007, alleging she was drugged and assaulted on the beach.

Investigators said the women were never paid.

Defense attorneys in the state cases claimed the women involved all signed releases showing they knew they were there to film pornography. The videos also contain footage of the women denying they were under the influence of drugs or alcohol, they said.

Most of the state charges against Flanders and Callum were dropped in July, so the evidence could become part of the federal indictment, Broward prosecutors said at the time.

Days after state prosecutors dropped most of the criminal charges against Flanders, he filed a lawsuit against Miramar officials and detectives, claiming false arrest.

According to court documents, Flanders was seeking $15,000 in damages from the city, saying the 2007 arrest caused him to lose his job as a Miami-Dade Transit bus driver and lose a discrimination lawsuit.

In Callum's online biography, he went by the name Jah-T and was proclaimed one of South Florida's fastest-rising porn stars.

A former drama school student in Kingston, Jamaica, the adult entertainer charged a $500-per-session fee and was available for "private dates" for $175 an hour — ladies only, according to the website.

Jah-T's name and his naked image adorn the covers of dozens of adult DVDs with titles such as "Jamaican Stallion" and "Miami's Nastiest Nymphos 1-5."

According to the bio, the man with the word "Crunk" tattooed across his buttocks had performed with more than 100 women in porn movies.

"Jah-T has revolutionized his brand of adult entertainment!!" trumpeted the online biography.

Flanders and Callum were charged with conspiracy, human trafficking and distribution of Xanax between May 2006 and February 2011.